Tape-pulling pliers



Feb. 20, 1951 J, HIGGINS 2,542,249

TAPE-PULLING PLIERS Filed July 17, 1947 IN V EN TOR.

ARTHUR HIGGINS to get out of order.

Patented Feb. 20, 1951 1111;12-

umTEo STATE '3 Claims.

My invention relates to double actionhand grips, and its purposes are toprovide a hand operated grip for theuse of engineers, surveyors,electricians or mechanics which can readily be applied to .a chain,tape, wire or like object with venpressure thereon, and which can easilybe released and slid to a new position thereon without being required tobe released therefrom; to provide. a. double action spring grip withnonconverging; parallel gripping faces evenly applied, to one of saidobjects with such leverage as to support the pull thereon under theusual conditions encountered'in the art; to supply a grip which, whileforming a firm attachment to said object, will not scratch, mar, defaceor injurethe surface thereof where the jaws of said grip are. applied;to provide an adequate means for slidably guiding. said object throughthe opening be tween the jaws of the grip when released therefrom andpermitting without removal the said grip to be slid and successivelyclamped to said object forsucoeeding pulls thereon; to furnish a gripfor said object which is contoured to fit the hand in the naturalposition'that the said object would be held if grasped by the hand inthe usual way and which is constructed to be handled in a similarmanner; to' guard against the grip'becoming locked or jammed upon thesaid object so as to necessitate time and effort to remove the sametherefrom; to render the parts i readily accessible for inspection,adjustment, re-J placement or repair; and generally to provide a devicewhich is strong and durable and not likely will appear from the drawingand ashereinafter set forth and described.

{This invention is an improvement upon the chain, or tape grip disclosedin my pending appli:

cation, Serial No. 729,042, filed February 17, 1947;

to which reference is made fora description of the more general featuresthereof. 1 Attention is hereby directed to the drawing, illustrating apreferred form of my invention, in which similar numerals of designationrefer to similar parts throughoutthe several views and in which-- IFigure 1 is a side elevation of my improved hand grip showing the jawsthereof open-and'in normal spaced position and ready for application tothechain or tape upon insertion therebetween,

and for gripping contact-therewith upon compression of the handles ofsaid grip;

Fig. '2 is a view of the handle :end of device shown in Fig. 1 fromline'2--2, looking in the directionof the arrows; I.

Fig-'3 is a view of the jaw-end of said device,

These and other purposes st, PATENT OFFICE lTAPE-PULLINGgPIiIERS ArthurJ. Higgins,, San Dieg i, Calif.ApplicationJJuIyiH,i517;ScrialNofl'iGlJZl v r (atlas from line3--3,1ooking in the direction of arrows, and

Fig. 4 is a side elevation similar to thatshown in Fig -1, showing thejaws thereof closed and-in gripping contact with a section of said chainor tape, with the guiding latch swung to prevent sideways escapethereof.

Referring to the drawing, myimproved hand grip 5 is shown as composed oftwo separate members 6 and I; the member 6 having the handle 8, providedwith the enlarged head 9 to which is pivotally secured by the roundheaded or counter; sunk screw I0 androcking thereon, the detach able jawI I andthe member I, having thelhandle I2- integral with the jaw I3which. is pivotally connected to the head 9 by theround headed orcountersunk screw I 4. Preferably the portion of the shanks of both thescrews I0 and I4 protruding from the head 8 are left unthreaded so thatthe jaws II and I3 respectively may turn freely thereon; The said jawsare constructed with opposing flat walls or planar surfaces to which aretherein 7 a .For the purpose of securing the exact parallel occlusion ofthe facings Ila and I3a upon compression of the handles 8 and I24 thescrew I0 passing through an opening provided therefor in the central,outer portion of the rocking jaw II, islso positioned in respect tothejaw I3 turning upon its fulcrum provided by the screw l4, that thesaid-rocking jaw II will automatically upon said compression and contactwith the wire 2 or. tape .Ifisalways-assume such relationship with thejaw I3 as to accomplish the said occlusion of said facings; the resultfollowing that because of the even pressure exerted by said facings a.grip is accomplished which while forming a firm attachment tosaid wireor tape will not scratch,

" mar, ,defaceor. injure the same.

9 introduced therein,. and to guidexits longitudinal movement, Ipreferably employ the latch or catch II.,, pivotally mounted upon thejaw I3 and positioned so as tobe moved across a portionof the exposedopen side oflsaid passageway, and tem-:

In order that the said passageway l may" normally be open and thefacings II d and" 13a kept apart in exact parallel relation -for. the-in-,

troduction and sliding passage of the wire or tape I6, I preferablyemploy a specialfo'rm"ofispring Patent is:

actuated plunger, comprising a rod normally at right angles tosaid..;facing Ila, and having" one end in threaded engagement with anopening provided therefor'in-theinner portion of the handle 8; the mainportion of said rod e'X-' tending inwardly through an opening in theextension I-Ib of the facing I l a and engaging with and passing throughthe screw-eye 2 I secured to the wall of the handle 12 where theprotruding other end of said rod is threaded to engage with the nut 22.Compression springs 23 and 24, mounted upon said rod and extendingthrough the respective spacesbetween'said handle 8 and extension Nb, andbetween said extension I lb and screw-eye 2|, serving to keep said jawsII and l 3 and the facings thereof apart except when said handles 8 andI2 are compressed against said springs to effect the desired grip uponthe wire or tape. Preferably the rod Zil has welded or' firmly securedthereto, adjacent to the extension IIb and normally in contacttherewith, the collar 25, thereby limiting the rocking of the jaw II andupward movement of said extension I lb to a range not above the normallevel thereof. Washers and 21, contacting the ends of said springs 23and 24 may be provided if de-' sired. v

The form, dimensions and character of my im proved hand grip as shown inthe drawing, are those preferred by me in the practice of my invention,but as is obvious could be varied without departing from the spirit orpurpose thereof. Thus the length and turning arc of the handles 8 andI2, and the width of the gap between the jaws thereof, could be changedand adapted to meet the needs of the work to be performed by engineers,surveyors, electricians, mechanics and others, as required by them.Preferably all of the parts of'my. improved device are made.

of metal, but if desired any other suitable mat i l coiild'ibe sle Tooperate my improved hand grip, it is only necessary tointroduce the tapeor wire I6 into the passa eway I 5 as shown in the drawing, and

to closethe latch I7, at which time the said grip he sl d to anyposition desired on the tapeqr wire' fwithoutl removing the same threfromf an H atany time the grip may be clam ed tosaid tape or wirebycompression of the fingers and thumb of the hand to allowthe same to bepulled; or upon release of such compression, again to open said grip}When the'gr ipis no longerneeded, mayfr eadily be removed from the tapeorwire by opening the said latch and by disengaging the tape or wirefrom the passageway I5. Where in the claims, I have used the words wiretape, I desire to be understood as .meaning any format metallic tape orwire upon which my improved grip could be used for pulling purpreventthe lateral escape of said wire tape after,

--'-by. the foregoing description, and all changes which may come withinthe meaning and range of'equivalency of the claims are therefore in-..tendedto be. embraced therein.

What'I claim and desire to secure by Letters 1. A. double action handgrip, comprising two handle members, one of said members having anenlarged head and a rocking jaw pivotally mounted upon said head, theother member,having a jaw firmly secured thereto and beingpivotallyniounted upon said head; the said jaws mutually opposing eachother and having their opposing faces unbrokenly fiat and normally inopen spaced parallel relation one with the other:

and forming a passageway therebetween for sliding engagement with a wiretape; and spring means associated with saidhandles for holding andmaintaining said jaws in saidn'ormal spaced: relation but permittingsaid jaws to make parallel engagement with said wire tape uponcompression of said handle members. I

-2. The subject matter ofclaim 1, including a latch pivotally mountedupon one of saidmema bers and operable to close sufficiently the opening between said jawsat the sides thereof so, asj to guide thelongitudinal movement and to;

being slidably installed as aforesaid.

'3. A double action hand grip, comprising two;

handle members, one of said members having an enlarged head, and arocking jaw pivotally mounted upon said head to rock evenly-in op-,

posite directions, and other member havinga, jaw firmly secured theretoand being pivotally mounted upon said head; the said jawsmutuallyopposing each other and having firmly secured' thereto sheet metalfacings normallyin open spaced parallel relation one with the other and.forming a passageway therebetween for sliding engagement with a wiretape, one of the facings extending inwardly between said handle members;beyond the opening between said. jaws; and;

spring plunger means mounted upon saidhandle members andconnectedwithsaid extended fac ing,, for., holding and maintaining 'saidjawsandfacings in said normal spaced relation, but'perjj mitting said facingsto make parallel engage... ment with said Wire tape and t gripthe same,upon manual compression of said handle members.

REFERENCES CITED 1 The following references are-of record inthe' file ofthis patent:

Nasser Date i The present ARTHUR. J. HIGGINS.

UNITEDSTATES PATENTS I

